Stocking



Patented May 2, 1950 UNITED# STATES PATENT OFFICE STOCKING Samuel Irving Bord, New York, N. Y., assignor` to: Reconstruction Finance CorporatiomPhiladelphia, Pa., a corporation of the United States..

Application February 14 ,1949, Serial No: 76,319

(Cl. (i6- 173) 3,(3laims. l

In ladies full fashioned` hosiery the problem of 4keeping the back seam straight has been a very serious one and, as far as I am aware, none ofthe previous attempts to prevent the seam from assuming diagonal or other twisted or distorted positions has been successful.

Because the back seam of the full fashioned stocking, as heretofore constructed, extends continuously from the foot all the way to the uppermost edge of the welt, and because the garter straps which depend fromthe girdle are secured to the upper edge of the welt, any strain or stress exerted on the upper edge of the welt is transmitted directly to the back seam of the leg and causes it to depart from the straight up and down position which it assumes when the stocking is rst put on. In other words, as the lady walks, or when she crosses her leg, or' when she stoops, the garter straps tend to assume'non-symmetrical positions relative to the hips and the thighs and therefore exert unequal and non-symmetrical pulling actions on the portions of the welt to which they are secured and thus distorting the seam of the leg accordingly.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to produce an improved stoclfzingV construction whereby the back seam, under ordinary conditions and body movements, will remain straight, or at least substantially so.

Furthermore, the present trend in ladies hosiery is to producea better 't and at the same time reduce the necessity of manufacturing and carrying a large inventory in aA large number of different sizes. To this end, it hasheretofore been proposed to provide thestockings with very long welts formed of severable or of foldable sections so that, if the stocking is of right length the garter clasps are engagedwith the top of the welt, and, if it is too long, one or more of said sections can be cut olf` or folded over to bring the stocking to the desired length.

It is, therefore, a further object of the invention to produce an improved adjustable welt construction whereby the length of the stocking may be reduced when desired.

A still further object is to produce an improved construction which will accomplish both of the foregoing objects and which will present an attractive and pleasing appearance.

These and other objects are attained by my invention as set forth in the following specification and. as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in rear elevation and partly in section of the fully seamed upper por;

tion of atladys` full fashionedwstocking embodyiing my invention, certain parts being broken; away and other. parts being distorted for clarityr of illustration.

Fig. 2 is a View, partly in front elevationr and:` partly in section of the partially seamedupper:

portion of a ladys full fashioned stocking emi.

bodying my invention, certain parts being brokerr` away and other parts being distorted for clarity of illustration.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the welt and adjacent portion of the legas it appearswhen.;

it cornes off the legger and before the seamlng operation is begun.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 1, butshowing another stood that the invention relates to a completeer full fashioned stocking including a conventional leg and a conventional foot.

A stocking embodying my invention is pro duced asfollows:

The welt is started on a at legger, the starting point being designated by numeral I0; and the knitting operation proceeds until` the inner welt wall i2 is completed; whereupon one or more? courses I of picot or other open stitch are produced. The courses Idiimpart a finished edge; and facilitate folding of the outer wall I6 of the welt upon the inner wall I2. After the wall I6" is completed the margins of the walls I2 and I6 are joined as at I 8.

Beyond. the junctionof the walls I2 and IIB; aborder Zi is produced by means ofany locked, lace, or other run-arresting stitch. Beyond the border 2i), a single thickness portion 22, whichf is preferably of the same fabric as the walls* |f21and i6, is produced'. The portion 22 terminatesl ina run-arresting, locked stitch, or lace border 24?; which merges with the inner wall 26 of an auxiliary or skirt-welt S, which issubstantially"co` extensive with the portion 22. The inner wall 26 terminates in, a border 28, formed of picot or other locked, open work stitches, which arrest runs, provide a nnished edge, and facilitate folding. Beyond the border 28 is knit the outer wall 3P of the skirt welt. The lower edge of the wall 3i! is joined to the border 24 and is extended therebelow to form a margin 3| which terminates in a border 32 of picot, or otherrun-arresting locked stitch open Work. After the border 32E` a single thickness shadow welt .'iliv is produced.` The shadow welt SLIA terminates-fatline 36, andi-1S- asomo-i1 followed by the leg 39. which is knit in any desired manner.

The structure so far described provides for adjusting the length, and to some extent the width, of the stocking, and it provides a comfortable and attractive construction. Thus, if the stocking is of the desired length, the garter clasps are engaged with the walls I2 and I6 at a point below the upper edge I4. If the stocking is too long, the upper welt is folded down along the border 24 so as to be nested within the skirt welt S and the shadow welt 34, and the garter clasps are engaged with the walls 26 and 30 of the skirt Welt at a point below the picot edge 28. If the wearer so desires, the upper welt and the intermediate portion 22 may be removed by severing the fabric at or above the border 24 so that the skirt welt formed of the walls 2B and 30 will constitute the upper end of the stocking.

In conventional stockings, the edges of the leg, the shadow welt and the conventional Welt are all joined by a single, continuous seam, which runs along the center of the back of the leg. As above stated, when the stocking is so seamed, the entire seam, and particularly the part thereof which extends along the back of the calf of the leg, is constantly pulled in one direction or another according to the stress and strains to which the garter clasps are subjected as a result of movement on the part of the wearer.

According to my invention, the edges of the leg 38, the shadow Welt 34, and the skirt-Welt, formed of walls 26 and 39, are seamed in one operation that is to say, they are joined by a single continuous seam, and the edges of the intermediate portion 22 and the upper welt, formed of the walls I2 and I8, are seamed in another operation, that is to say, they are joined by another seam which is not a continuation of the seam of the leg.

For example, the rear edges of the leg 38, shadow lwelt 34, and the walls 3! and 25 are joined by seam 39, which terminates at 4B, and the back edges of the intermediate portion 22 and of the walls I6 and l2 are joined by a seam 4I, which begins at point 49. In practice, the seams 39 and 4I join the entire edges of the outer walls 30 and IT, but only join the upper edges (as viewed in Fig. l) of inner walls 26 and I2 of the Welts, thus leaving an opening 42 which is only iown in connection with the skirt welt, but which will also be present in the upper welt also It is also within the scope of the invention to stop the seam 39 at the upper end of the shadow Welt 34 and to seam the Welts separately with the portion 22 included in the seam of either of the welts or seamed separately.

In Fig. 4, I show another embodiment of the invention in which the skirt welt S' is disposed inwardly of, and nests within the corresponding portion of the stocking instead of being disposed outwardly of, and encircling the said corresponding portion of the stocking. In this ernbodiment the various parts are referred to by the prime of the numerals used to designate corresponding parts in Fig. 1.

With the garter clasps secured to the upper edge of the upper welt, and with the edges of the portion 22 and of the walls IB and I2 joined by seam 4I (which is not a continuation of seam 39), the unequal strains exerted on the points of engagement of the garter clasps will move the upper Welt and the intermediate portion 22 accordingly, but, because of the fact that the seam 4I is not a continuation of the seam 39 and. possibly, due to the presence of the ilexible and expandible border 24, the force lcomponents are exhausted so that little or no pull is exerted, in any direction, on the seam 39. In other words, the movements of the body and the resultant strains only aiect the intermediate portion 22 and the upper welt, but do not, appreciably or visibly, affect the disposition of the seam 39. That being the case, the seam 39 is only subjected to the symmetrical friction and pull exerted by the symmetrical calf of the leg and, therefore, if not distorted deliberately or by an unusual force, the seam tends to remain vertical and centered.

When, to shorten the stocking, the upper welt and the intermediate portion 22 are folded so as to nest within the skirt welt, and the shadow Welt 34, and the garter clasps engage the walls 30 and 26, the presence of the upper Welt and the portion 22 between the leg on one side and the shadow welt and the skirt welt on the other, apparently creates frictional engagement between the lwales of the contracting fabrics and tightens the outer fabric against the leg. rlhis, togetherV with the presence of the open Work area between the skirt welt and the shadow welt prevents or reduces transmission of the unequal strains exerted by the garter clasps to the back seam 39 of the leg.

The foregoing also applies to the embodiment of Fig. 4, except that in this embodiment, when the stocking is shortened by turning the upper welt or intermediate portion 22, or both, down, the skirt Welt or the portion 22, or both, encircle and hug the skirt welt or both the skirt welt and the shadow Welt, and will thus counteract or at least minimize the forces tending to distort the seam 39.

The explanation as to how the structure functions is the best that applicant has been able to iind as a result of extensive trials and comparisons with or against various types of conventionally constructed stockings, and it has been conclusively established that, under comparable conditions, the seams of stockings constructed as shown and described remain straight for much longer periods and to much greater extent than the seams of any other type of stocking available.

What I claim is:

l. A ladys full fashioned stocking including a leg, a rst double thickness welt near the upper edge of said leg, an intermediate portion beginning near the junction of said rst welt with said leg and extending towards the free edge of said first welt, a first portion of open work fabric formed along the top edge of said intermediate portion, a second double thickness welt carried by the top edge of said rst open work portion, and a second portion of open work fabric near the junction of said first welt with said leg.

2. A ladys full fashioned stocking including a leg, a rst double thickness welt near the upper edge of said leg, an intermediate portion beginning near the junction of said first welt with said leg and extending towards the free edge of said iirst Welt, a first portion of open work fabric formed along the top edge of said intermediate portion, a second double thickness welt carried by the top edge of said rst open work portion, a second portion of open work fabric near the junction of said rst welt with said leg, a seam connecting the vertical back edges of said first welt, and a separate seam connecting the vertical back edges of said second welt.

3. A ladys full fashioned stocking including a leg, a first double thickness welt near the upper edge of said leg, an intermediate portion beginning near the junction of said first Welt With said leg and extending towards the free edge of said first welt, a rst portion of open Work fabric formed along the top edge of said intermediate portion, a second double thickness Welt carried by the top edge of said first open work portion, a second portion of open Work fabric near the junction of said first Welt with said leg, a seam connecting the vertical edges of said leg and said first welt, and a separate seam connecting the vertical back edges of said intermediate portion and said second welt.

SAMUEL IRVING BURD.

lli

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,937,033 Smith et a1 Nov. 28, 1933 2,051,167 Goodman et al. Aug. 18, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 264,687 Germany Oct. 101, 1913 

